Timely and Timeless: Calgary Opera stays true to Puccini's Tosca, but the story still resonates today

It’s a sure sign we are living in precarious times when a melodramatic tragedy set in 1800 Rome resonates so strongly with our current political and social climate.

There’s an undeniable modern relevance to the grim storyline of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, a 118-year-old opera that is probably 10 times as timely now as it would have been even a year ago.

“It seems very dramatic,” says soprano Ambur Braid, who will be singing the titular character in Calgary Opera’s production of the classic. “Every single action that is going on this opera is parallel to something that is going on in this world today. It’s totally modern life, it’s totally real life.”

In fact, as the #Metoo movement continues to expose past wrongs and bring down abusive and powerful men, Tosca seems almost custom-made for the times.

Yes, there are elements of true love, sacrifice and bravery and virtue. But, like many a good opera, Tosca is also chock full of nastiness. There is suicide, torture, political intrigue, betrayal, revenge and abuse of power, all set to some of Puccini’s most beautiful music and best-known arias.

But it’s the actions of tyrannical police chief Scarpia, sung by baritone Gregory Dahl, that seem to resonate most deeply with our current landscape. Scarpia is pursuing escaped political prisoner Cesare Angelotti with a Javert-like intensity. He suspects that painter Mario Cavaradossi (tenor Luc Robert) is harbouring Angelotti. This allows him to sexually blackmail Cavaradossi’s beautiful lover Tosca, a fiery opera singer. All this is set against a backdrop of political turmoil, as Rome is bracing for the advance of Napoleon’s army.

“Scarpia is basically a powerful man and a sexual predator,” says Dahl. “I’m abusing everybody around me and basically I’ve been hired to clean house. In Rome, (at) this time, this was the fifth change of power (in two years) of who was in charge. The people don’t know who is in charge. Nobody really trusts anybody.”

Soprano Ambur Braid co-stars in Calgary Opera’s Tosca.Calgary

Tosca is the fifth most-produced opera in the world, with Calgary Opera having last performed Puccini’s masterpiece 10 years ago. It’s full of famous music, including Tosca’s despairing, God-questioning aria, Vissi D’arte.

The plan for this production, directed by Rob Herriot and conducted by Jacques Lacomb, was to stick as closely to Puccini’s original vision as possible. So while it may greatly resonate with modern audiences, there is no attempt to modernize it.

For Braid, who was last seen on the Calgary Opera stage in 2016 as the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Magic Flute, sticking to the original script has made the prospect of taking on one of opera’s most renowned roles a little less daunting.

“The most terrifying part of playing Tosca is the legacy that has come before me,” Braid says. “The best singers in the world have sung this role. And we have, on record, the best of the best and not the people that did their first Tosca. So we hear the greatest recordings of Tosca ever. That’s a lot to live up to. So the only thing you can do, as an artist, is go right back to what Puccini wanted. And it’s all there.”

While Tosca may be victimized, those familiar with the story know that she is no mere victim in need of saving, but a complex character.

“She’s a woman in Rome in the 1800s,” Braid says. “They were strong women and she’s been around men of power for most of her life. I find her incredibly sophisticated. She is very religious and sincerely pious.”

Scarpia, while undoubtedly a thug, is also multi-faceted, which makes the frequent showdowns between the two characters a major part of the opera’s dynamic.

“As a singer, you can run into trouble in my role because there is a lot of anger,” he says. “There’s a lot of so-called screaming. A lot of these emotions don’t complement good singing style. Because singing is all about support and being relaxed, the bel canto, and if you’re screaming at somebody it’s hard to be relaxed. That’s the key to success here for me.”

“For me, too,” Braid adds with a laugh. “Because I tend to scream right in Gregory’s face. So we’re taking it to about 200 per cent in rehearsal and then we have to rein it in a little bit or we don’t have a voice the next day.”

As the season-ender for Calgary Opera, Tosca checks off a lot of boxes when it comes to the company’s mandate for mixing in lavish, well-known operas with newer and riskier works. Despite all the thought-provoking darkness the story might provide, it is a nice primer for audience members not fully acquainted with opera.

“This is death and depravity, it’s all emotion and passion and sex,” Braid says. “All the good bits.”

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